CRISIS IN THE HORN OF AFRICA

Motherhood in Dadaab

Countless families are being broken up as mothers and children leave Somalia in search of relief while their husbands stay behind to care for relatives who are too old, too sick, or too weak from hunger to flee. These heroic women and their families are survivors of the century's biggest humanitarian emergency.

From Dadaab to Jordan With Love

Country Info

CARE commenced its humanitarian program in Kenya in 1968. Since then we have built a substantial development and humanitarian program, targeting around one million people in Kenya per year.

We currently carry out major programs in refugee assistance, health, water and sanitation, financial inclusion, adaptation to climate change, disaster risk reduction, agricultural value chains and humanitarian and emergency response. CARE is a lead partner of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and World Food Programme (WFP), for water and hygiene, food distribution and formal education in the Dadaab refugee camps, near the Kenya-Somalia border. As of December 31, 2013, the refugee population in Dadaab was 408,283 refugees. CARE is also lead partner of the Global Fund in Kenya and partners with CDC for a major health program.

Our main office is in Nairobi, and our main focus areas are western Kenya, Nairobi informal settlements and northern Kenya arid and semi arid lands. We also have projects in central and rift valley counties around financial inclusion and agricultural value chains. We currently work in 17 counties directly, and in 23 counties indirectly through Global Fund partners.

CARE has been operationg in Kenya since 1968, and today we're most active in Nyanza Province (with a sub-office in Kisumu), Kibera in Nairobi and North Eastern Province (with sub-offices in Garissa, Dadaab, Elwak and Marsabit).

Tennis Star Venus Williams Sees Clean Water Work in Kenya

Crisis in the Horn of Africa

In 2011, a catastrophic drought struck the Horn of Africa, affecting Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. CARE continues its work there, helping communities become increasingly resilient for the future.

In the year since the United Nations declared a famine in parts of Somalia, much has been accomplished. Large-scale humanitarian interventions by CARE and other agencies have helped save many lives. But families still struggle to feed themselves, and remain highly vulnerable to future events such as poor harvests, conflict-related displacement or a rise in commodity prices. Many who survived the worst of the crisis have been left without the reserves to withstand further shocks.